Semaglutide’s Alzheimer’s miss. Plus: Vaccine policy, funding for cell, gene therapies

Inside the data for Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 therapy, and the possible ripple effects of FDA’s new vaccine initiative

Novo Nordisk’s highly anticipated data for semaglutide in Alzheimer’s dashed hopes that the GLP-1 therapy could become a game changer in the disease. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Executive Editor Selina Koch discusses the Phase III readout — for what she calls a perfect synthesis of biotech’s hottest target and one of the biggest diseases facing developed countries — including what it says about the mechanism’s use in the neurodegenerative disease, Novo’s decision to skip Phase II and enroll a large patient group in a later stage trial, and what other datasets for GLP-1s in the indication have shown.

Washington Editor Steve Usdin explains why FDA’s new vaccine policies, driven by CBER Director Vinay Prasad, could have impacts more far-reaching than expected, including making it more difficult to develop or modify vaccines. And Lauren Martz, executive director of biopharma intelligence, analyzes the bleak investment outlook for cell and gene therapy companies in the U.S. and why China’s biotech ecosystem offers a glimmer of hope for sponsors of these assets.